2015 in golf

none 2015 golf This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2015. Men's professional golf Major championships 9–12 April: The Masters – Jordan Spieth won by four strokes over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. It was his first major victory. He also tied the Tiger Woods' tournament record of 270 (−18)Morley Gary Masters 2015: Jordan Spieth smashes records to win first major title at Augusta http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/12/golf/masters-jordan-spieth-golf/index.html CNN June 16, 2015 18–21 June: U.S. Open – Jordan Spieth won by one stroke when Dustin Johnson failed to make birdie at the 18th hole. He became the sixth player ever to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year.Jordan Spieth wins stunner at Chambers Bay for U.S. Open title https://www.espn.com/golf/usopen15/story/_/id/13127930/2015-us-open-jordan-spieth-wins-dusting-johnson-3-putts-18th-hole ESPN Associated Press June 21, 2015 16–19 July: The Open Championship – Zach Johnson won in a 4-hole aggregate playoff, when Louis Oosthuizen failed to make his putt on the 4th and final hole of the playoff. It was Johnson's first Open Championship victory, and his second major victory.https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/golf/33597911 Open 2015: Zach Johnson triumphs in play-off at St Andrews 20 July 2015 BBC Sport Phil Dawkes 21 July 2015 13–16 August: PGA Championship – Jason Day won his first major by three strokes over Jordan Spieth. Day played consistently during the final round, never allowing Spieth an opportunity to get closer than 3 strokes, while setting a record for a major at 20 under par, besting Tiger Woods' previous record of 19 under at the 2000 British Open.https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/sports/golf/jason-day-wins-pga-championship-for-first-major-title.html Jason Day Wins P.G.A. Championship for First Major Title The New York Times August 17, 2015 Crouse Karen World Golf Championships 5–8 March WGC-Cadillac Championship – Dustin Johnson won by one stroke over J. B. Holmeshttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/09/dustin-johnson-wgc-cadillac-doral-title Dustin Johnson rides pressure to mark his comeback with Doral title March 9, 2015 The Guardian Ewan Murray 29 April – 3 May: WGC-Cadillac Match Play – Rory McIlroy defeated Gary Woodland, 4 & 2, in the championship match. It was McIlroy's first WGC-Match Play championship, and his second WGC championship overall.https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/golf/32577219 Rory McIlroy wins WGC Match Play by beating Gary Woodland May 3, 2015 BBC Sport 6–9 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – Shane Lowry won by two strokes over Bubba Watson. It was his first WGC victory.https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/golf/33843668 Shane Lowry wins WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title in Ohio August 10, 2015 BBC Sport 5–8 November: WGC-HSBC Champions – Russell Knox won by two strokes over Kevin Kisner. It was his first World Golf Championship victory, and also his first PGA Tour and European Tour victory.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/14079723/russell-knox-wins-hsbc-champions-first-pga-tour-title Russell Knox shoots 68 to win first PGA Tour title at HSBC Champions ESPN Associated Press 8 November 2015 FedEx Cup playoff events - see 2015 FedEx Cup Playoffs 27–30 August: The Barclays – Jason Day tied the tournament record and won by six strokes over Henrik Stenson.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/13538982/jason-day-winning-killer-instinct-shining-barclays-victory Jason Day's killer instinct shining through in win ESPN Jason Sobel August 30, 2015 4–7 September: Deutsche Bank Championship – Rickie Fowler won by one stroke over Henrik Stenson.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/13597126/rickie-fowler-comes-clutch-deutsche-bank-championship-victory Fowler comes through in the clutch for DBC victory ESPN Jason Sobel September 7, 2015 17–20 September: BMW Championship – Jason Day won his second FedEx Cup event of the season and moved to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.Dream comes true for Day at BMW http://www.pgatour.com/news/2015/09/20/jason-day-bmw-championship.html PGA Tour Sean Martin September 20, 2015 September 21, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151118233509/http://www.pgatour.com/news/2015/09/20/jason-day-bmw-championship.html November 18, 2015 24–27 September: Tour Championship – Jordan Spieth won by three strokes over Danny Lee, Justin Rose, and Henrik Stenson. The victory for him also won his first FedEx Cup.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/13757490/jordan-spieth-wins-tour-championship-capture-fedex-cup-10-million-bonus Jordan Spieth closes with 1-under 69 to capture FedEx Cup, $10M bonus ESPN Associated Press September 28, 2015 Other leading PGA Tour events 7–10 May: The Players Championship – Rickie Fowler defeated Kevin Kisner and Sergio García in a three-hole aggregate playoff, eliminating García after the third hole, and eliminating Kisner on a sudden-death fourth hole. It was Fowler's first Players title.http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/12862130/rickie-fowler-wins-3-way-playoff-capture-players-championship ESPN Associated Press Rickie Fowler rallies, overcomes 2 in playoff to claim Players May 11, 2015< For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2015 PGA Tour. Leading European Tour events 21–24 May: BMW PGA Championship – An Byeong-hun won by six strokes over Thongchai Jaidee and Miguel Ángel Jiménez. It was his first European Tour victory.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/24/wentworth-pga-tournament-record-an-byeong-hun Wentworth’s PGA Championship won by record-breaking An Byeong-hun The Guardian Ewan Murray 24 May 2015 29 October – 1 November: Turkish Airlines Open – Victor Dubuisson won by one stroke over Jaco van Zyl. 12–15 November: BMW Masters – Kristoffer Broberg won in a playoff over Patrick Reed, with a birdie on the first extra hole. It was his first European Tour victory. 19–22 November: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – Rory McIlroy won by one stroke over Andy Sullivan, clinching the Race to Dubai title. It was his second Tour Championship victory, and his third Race to Dubai title. For a complete list of European Tour results see 2015 European Tour. Team events 8–11 October: Presidents Cup – The U.S. team won, 15–14, for the sixth straight time.https://www.espn.com/golf/prescup15/story/_/id/13852147/match-play-excitement-display-drama-filled-presidents-cup Match-play excitement on display at drama-filled Presidents Cup 11 October 2015 ESPN Bob Harig Tour leaders PGA Tour – USA Jordan Spieth (US$12,030,465) This total does not include FedEx Cup bonuses. European Tour – NIR Rory McIlroy (4,727,253 points) This total does not include the US$1.875 million bonus for winning the Race to Dubai. Japan Golf Tour – KOR Kim Kyung-tae (¥165,981,625) Asian Tour – IND Anirban Lahiri (US$1,139,084) PGA Tour of Australasia – AUS Nathan Holman (A$346,702) Sunshine Tour – ZAF George Coetzee (R 5,470,684) Awards PGA Tour FedEx Cup – USA Jordan Spieth PGA Player of the Year – USA Jordan Spieth Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) – USA Jordan Spieth Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – USA Jordan Spieth Vardon Trophy – USA Jordan Spieth Byron Nelson Award – USA Jordan Spieth Rookie of the Year – USA Daniel Berger Payne Stewart Award – ZAF Ernie Els European Tour Golfer of the Year – NIR Rory McIlroy Rookie of the Year – KOR An Byeong-hun Web.com Tour Player of the Year – USA Patton Kizzire Results from other tours 2015 Asian Development Tour 2015 Asian Tour 2015 PGA Tour of Australasia 2015 Challenge Tour 2015 Japan Golf Tour 2015 Korean Tour 2015 OneAsia Tour 2015 PGA Tour Canada 2015 PGA Tour China 2015 PGA Tour Latinoamérica 2015 Sunshine Tour 2015 Web.com Tour Other happenings 15 July: The board of the Official World Golf Ranking approved the addition of the PGA EuroPro Tour, Pro Golf Tour, Alps Tour, and Nordic Golf League into the world rankings. The new scoring begins after the 2015 Open Championship and brings the number of tours that receive ranking points to 18. 16 August: Jordan Spieth becomes the number one golfer in the world. 30 August: Rory McIlroy regains the world number one ranking. 8 September: Spieth regains the world number one ranking. 14 September: McIlroy regains the world number one ranking. 21 September: Jason Day gains the world number one ranking for the first time, resulting from his victory at the BMW Championship. 28 September: Spieth regains the world number one ranking. 18 October: Day regains the world number one ranking. 8 November: Spieth regains the world number one ranking. Women's professional golf LPGA majors 2–5 April: ANA Inspiration – Brittany Lincicome defeated Stacy Lewis on the third playoff hole. It is her second ANA Inspiration victory.https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lpga-ana-inspiration-20150406-story.html Los Angeles Times Helfand Zach Fourth time's the charm: Brittany Lincicome wins year's first LPGA major April 5, 2015 11–14 June: KPMG Women's PGA Championship – Inbee Park won by five strokes over Kim Sei-young. It was her third consecutive Women's PGA Championship victory, and her sixth major victory overall. She also set a tournament record relative to par, at −19.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/13077651/inbee-park-wins-kpmg-women-pga-championship-third-consecutive-year Inbee Park goes bogey-free, wins third Women's PGA Championship in a row ESPN Associated Press June 14, 2015 9–12 July: U.S. Women's Open – Chun In-gee won by one stroke over Amy Yang, for her first major victory.https://www.lpga.com/news/2015/2015-final-round-quick-recap-us-womens-open In Gee Chun Wins 70th U.S. Women's Open in First Start in Championship LPGA Amy Rogers July 12, 2015 30 July – 2 August: Women's British Open – Inbee Park won by three strokes over Ko Jin-young. It was her first Women's British Open victory, and her seventh major victory overall.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/13364869/inbee-park-wins-women-british-open-captures-4th-different-major-title ESPN Associated Press Inbee Park wins Women's British Open, captures 4th different major title 2 August 2015 10–13 September: The Evian Championship – Lydia Ko won by six strokes over Lexi Thompson. It was her first major championship, and in the process she became, at age 18, the youngest person of either sex ever to win a professional major championship.Lydia Ko wins Evian Championship to become youngest major champion https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/13645688/lydia-ko-wins-evian-championship-become-youngest-major-champion ESPN Associated Press 13 September 2015 For a complete list of LPGA Tour results, see 2015 LPGA Tour. Additional LPGA Tour events 19–22 November: CME Group Tour Championship – Cristie Kerr won by one stroke over Jang Ha-na and Gerina Piller, while Lydia Ko won the season-long Race to the CME Globe.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/14196397/cristie-kerr-wins-cme-group-tour-championship Cristie Kerr wins season-ending tourney; Lydia Ko takes $1M bonus ESPN Associated Press November 22, 2015 Ladies European Tour event 9–12 December: Omega Dubai Ladies Masters – Shanshan Feng won by 12 strokes. For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see 2015 Ladies European Tour. Team events 18–20 September: Solheim Cup – Team USA won the Cup for the first time since 2009, with a 14½–13½ victory over Team Europe. Team USA won 8½ of the 12 available points in the singles matches to clinch the Cup.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/sep/20/solheim-cup-2015-players-tears-row Solheim Cup 2015: USA roar back to win after bitter row on 17th green 20 September 2015 The Guardian Ewan Murray Money list leaders LPGA Tour – NZL Lydia Ko (US$2,800,802) LPGA of Japan Tour – KOR Lee Bo-mee (¥230,497,057) Ladies European Tour – CHN Shanshan Feng (€399,213) LPGA of Korea Tour – KOR Chun In-gee (₩913,760,833) Ladies Asian Golf Tour – THA Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul (US$25,777) ALPG Tour – AUS Su-Hyun Oh (A$80,430) (2014/15 season) Symetra Tour – USA Annie Park (US$68,673) Awards LPGA Tour Player of the Year – NZL Lydia Ko LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year – KOR Sei Young Kim LPGA Tour Vare Trophy – KOR Inbee Park LET Rookie of the Year – DNK Emily Kristine Pedersen LPGA of Japan Tour Player of the Year – KOR Lee Bo-mee Other tour results 2015 Symetra Tour 2015 Ladies Asian Golf Tour 2015 LPGA of Japan Tour 2015 LPGA of Korea Tour Other happenings 31 January – Lydia Ko took over the No. 1 spot in Women's World Golf Rankings following her runner-up finish at Coates Golf Championship. 14 June – Inbee Park took over the No. 1 spot in Women's World Golf Rankings following her win at KPMG Women's PGA Championship. 26 July – Chun In-gee won major championships on three ladies professional golf tours in one season: U.S. Women's Open of LPGA Tour, World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup of LPGA of Japan Tour, and Hite Jinro Championship of LPGA of Korea Tour. 25 October – Ko took over the No. 1 spot in Women's World Golf Rankings following her win at Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship. 15 November - South Korean Lee Bo-mee became the first player of LPGA of Japan Tour to earn more than 200 million yen in one season, following her win at Ito En Ladies Golf Tournament. 22 November - With her consecutive victory at Daio Paper Elleair Open, Lee Bo-mee earned more than 220 million yen in one season, and now has the record of the greatest amount of money earned in one season in Japan, both men and women, surpassing the record of Toshimitsu Izawa in 2001. Senior men's professional golf Senior majors 14–17 May: Regions Tradition – Jeff Maggert won on the first playoff hole over Kevin Sutherland. 21–24 May: Senior PGA Championship – Colin Montgomerie won by four strokes. It is his third senior major championship, and his second straight Senior PGA Championship victory. 11–14 June: Senior Players Championship – Bernhard Langer won by six strokes over Kirk Triplett. It was his second consecutive Senior Players Championship victory, and his fifth senior major victory overall. 25–28 June: U.S. Senior Open – Jeff Maggert won by two strokes over Colin Montgomerie. It was his second senior major victory. 23–26 July: The Senior Open Championship – Marco Dawson won by one stroke over Bernhard Langer. It was Dawson's first major victory of any kind. Full results 2015 Champions Tour 2015 European Senior Tour Money list leaders Champions Tour – German Bernhard Langer topped the money list for the seventh time (fourth consecutive) with earnings of US$2,340,288. European Senior Tour – Colin Montgomerie won for the second consecutive season with earnings of €679,147. Awards Champions Tour Charles Schwab Cup – DEU Bernhard Langer Player of the Year – DEU Bernhard Langer Rookie of the Year – USA Jerry Smith Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – DEU Bernhard Langer Lowest stroke average (Byron Nelson Award) – DEU Bernhard Langer Amateur golf 15–18 January: Latin America Amateur Championship – Matías Domínguez of Chile won by one stroke over Alejandro Tosti of Argentina. 22–27 May: NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships – Stanford won its first team title and Emma Talley of Alabama claimed the individual title. 29 May – 3 June: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships – LSU won its fifth team title and Bryson DeChambeau of SMU claimed the individual title. 9–13 June: British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship - Céline Boutier won 4 and 3 over Linnea Ström in the championship match. 15–20 June: The Amateur Championship – Romain Langasque won 4 & 2 over Grant Forrest in the championship match. 10–16 August: U.S. Women's Amateur – Hannah O'Sullivan defeated Sierra Brooks 3 & 2 in the championship match. 17–23 August: U.S. Amateur – Bryson DeChambeau won 7 & 6 over Derek Bard in the championship match. 12–13 September: Walker Cup – Great Britain and Ireland defeated the United States by a score of 16½ to 9½. 1–4 October: Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship – Chinese golfer Jin Cheng won by one stroke; before the start of the fourth round, it was decided that weather conditions were not suitable for play, so the tournament was called completed with 54 holes in the books. Golf in multi-sport events 3–6 June: Games of the Small States of Europe – Iceland swept the gold medals: men's individual (Kristján Einarsson), women's individual (Guðrún Björnsdóttir), men's team and women's team. 9–12 June: Southeast Asian Games – Thailand swept the gold medals: men's individual (Natipong Srithong), women's individual (Suthavee Chanachai), men's team and women's team. 8–11 July: Summer Universiade – Japan took the men's individual (Kazuki Higa) and team gold medals while South Korea took the women's individual (Lee Jeong-eun) and team golds. 15–18 July: Pacific Games – Papua New Guinea swept the gold medals: men's individual (Soti Dinki), women's individual (Kristine Seko), men's team and women's team. 16–19 July: Pan American Games – Colombian players won the three events: men's (Marcelo Rozo), women's (Mariajo Uribe) and mixed team (Rozo, Uribe, Mateo Gómez, Paola Moreno). Deaths 29 January – Kel Nagle (born 1920), Australian golfer with 81 professional wins, most notably winning the 1960 Open Championship. 3 February – Charlie Sifford (born 1922), first African American to join the PGA Tour. 7 February – Billy Casper (born 1931), American golfer who won 51 times on the PGA Tour, including three majors. 29 April – Calvin Peete (born 1943), African-American golfer with 12 PGA Tour wins. 1 May – Pete Brown (born 1935), first African-American golfer to win on the PGA Tour. 3 May – Warren Smith (born 1915), member of the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame. 23 May – Hugh Boyle (born 1936), Irish golfer on 1967 Ryder Cup team. 7 June – Sean Pappas (born 1966), South African golfer with 5 Sunshine Tour wins. 7 August – Louise Suggs (born 1923), American professional golfer and co-founder of the LPGA, with 61 LPGA Tour victories, including 11 major championships. 13 September – Howie Johnson (born 1925), American golfer who won twice on the PGA Tour. 6 October – Sandra Spuzich (born 1937), American golfer who won seven times on the LPGA Tour, including the 1966 U.S. Women's Open. 18 November – Dan Halldorson (born 1952), Canadian golfer who won once on the PGA Tour and seven times on the Canadian Tour. Table of results This table summarizes all the results referred to above in date order. DatesTournamentStatus or tourWinner15–18 Jan Latin America Amateur Championship Amateur men's individual tournament CHL Matías Domínguez5–8 Mar WGC-Cadillac Championship World Golf Championships USA Dustin Johnson2–5 Apr ANA Inspiration LPGA major USA Brittany Lincicome9–12 Apr The Masters Men's major USA Jordan Spieth29 Apr – 3 May WGC-Cadillac Match Play World Golf Championships NIR Rory McIlroy7–10 May The Players Championship PGA Tour USA Rickie Fowler14–17 May Regions Tradition Senior major USA Jeff Maggert21–24 May BMW PGA Championship European Tour KOR An Byeong-hun21–24 May Senior PGA Championship Senior major SCO Colin Montgomerie22–27 May NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships U.S. college championship Stanford / Emma Talley29 May – 3 Jun NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships U.S. college championship LSU / Bryson DeChambeau9–13 Jun British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship Amateur women's individual tournament FRA Céline Boutier11–14 Jun KPMG Women's PGA Championship LPGA major KOR Inbee Park11–14 Jun Constellation Senior Players Championship Senior major DEU Bernhard Langer15–20 Jun The Amateur Championship Amateur men's individual tournament FRA Romain Langasque18–21 Jun U.S. Open Men's major USA Jordan Spieth25–28 Jun U.S. Senior OpenSenior major USA Jeff Maggert9–12 Jul U.S. Women's Open LPGA major KOR Chun In-gee16–19 Jul The Open Championship Men's major USA Zach Johnson23–26 Jul The Senior Open Championship Senior major USA Marco Dawson30 Jul – 2 Aug Ricoh Women's British Open LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour major KOR Inbee Park6–9 Aug WGC-Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championships IRL Shane Lowry10–16 Aug U.S. Women's Amateur Amateur women's individual tournament USA Hannah O'Sullivan13–16 Aug PGA Championship Men's major AUS Jason Day17–23 Aug U.S. Amateur Amateur men's individual tournament USA Bryson DeChambeau27–30 Aug The Barclays PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff AUS Jason Day4–7 Sep Deutsche Bank Championship PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff USA Rickie Fowler10–13 Sep The Evian Championship LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour major NZL Lydia Ko12–13 Sep Walker Cup Great Britain & Ireland v United Statesmen's amateur team event GBR Great Britain &IRE Ireland18–20 Sep Solheim Cup Europe v United Stateswomen's professional team event 17–20 Sep BMW ChampionshipPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff AUS Jason Day 24–27 Sep The Tour Championship PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff USA Jordan Spieth1–4 Oct Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship Amateur men's individual tournament CHN Jin Cheng 8–11 Oct Presidents Cup United States v. International teammen's professional team event USA U.S. team5–8 Nov WGC-HSBC Champions World Golf Championships SCO Russell Knox 19–22 Nov DP World Tour Championship, DubaiEuropean TourNIR Rory McIlroy19–22 Nov CME Group Tour Championship LPGA Tour USA Cristie Kerr The following biennial events will next be played in 2016: Ryder Cup, EurAsia Cup, International Crown, Curtis Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Espirito Santo Trophy. References 2015